Source: KFC.   

There's a new way to enjoy KFC's fried chicken, and it's going to be tempting if you like your poultry spicy. KFC parent Yum! Brands (YUM -0.90%) introduced Nashville Hot Chicken at all of its domestic restaurants on Monday, following a test last year in the Pittsburgh market that Yum! calls its most successful product test in recent history.

Restaurants specializing in hot chicken -- where the poultry is marinated in pickle brine, pressure fried, and smothered in hot sauce -- are growing in popularity, and KFC wants to be the one to take the tastebud-numbing delicacy nationwide.

KFC's Nashville Hot Chicken is available as a single breast, drumstick paired up with a thigh, or three chicken tenders starting at $5.49. The meal comes with pickle chips, cole slaw, and a biscuit. Larger servings are available, maxing out at a 24-piece "tailgate platter" of chicken tenders at a recommended price of $29.99. That platter may come in handy this winter as folks get together for NFL playoff-viewing parties. 

The new offering comes at a time when Yum! Brands itself can use a spark. KFC is starting to bounce back in China -- the chain's largest market in terms of locations -- following a scare tied to a supplier that was accused of improper food handling practices. The rebound in China and robust growth in several international markets helped push comps at KFC 3% higher on a currency-adjusted basis in Yum! Brands' latest quarter, but things aren't going as well closer to home. Domestic KFC's clocked in with a 2% uptick in comps on flat system sales growth for the period. 

Fried chicken remains popular, but the same can't be said about the publicly traded companies specializing in quick-service fried chicken. Bojangles (BOJA) went public at $19 just eight months ago. The stock went on to trade as high as $28.45, but Bojangles has gone on to shed nearly half of its value. Bojangles stock is now a broken IPO in the mid-teens. Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen (PLKI) has done a better job of holding on to its gains. Popeyes announced preliminary financial results last week, highlighted by a nearly 6% uptick in comps for all of 2015.

Spicy chicken is a popular item at Bojangles and Popeyes, and it will be interesting to see if KFC's Nashville Hot Chicken either eats into sales of its smaller rivals or helps stir up a broader appetite for spicy fried chicken that improves the prospects of all of the players.